Posts Tagged ‘feds’
Tuesday, September 11th, 2012
Work with me here. The recent America’s Cup scrimmage event up in San Francisco’s Great White North got this kind of reaction in the pages of the Marina Times:
“This event brought exactly the right kind of crowd to the Marina.”
Uh, white people with some extra folding money to spend – that kind of crowd?
Mmmm…
Anyway, you’d think that the friendly Marinites would similarly welcome the Feds landing Alcatraz tour boats at Fort Mason, right?
No.
Let’s hear from socially awkward, born-into-the-one-percent District Two Supervisor Mark Farrell in the very same pages of the Marina Times:
“The National Park Service’s (NPS) intention to study Fort Mason as a possible location for its Alcatraz tour ferry service is one of those ideas with serious and long-lasting impacts that must immediately be put to rest.”
(Yeah, it’s one of those ideas, huh? So like, Alex, I want “Ideas with serious and long-lasting impacts that must immediately be put to rest” for $1600?”)
Apparently, one set of aquatic tourists is the best thing in the world and another set of aquatic tourists is the worst thing in the world?
OK fine.
Hey Marina, look at this! You think the future can’t cross a bridge ride through a tunnel?
Now here’s the kicker. The reason why the white people of the Marina are worried about the Fort Mason proposal is that it’s a lead pipe cinch, owing to the lack of NIMBY laws on federal land:
“What makes the idea even more distressing to residents and establishments in the Marina is the lack of local environmental review and input that would be available. The NPS stated that environmental review of the Fort Mason site would be conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and not under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), because Fort Mason is federal property. Without a CEQA process in place for Fort Mason, the enormous changes contemplated in the Marina will never be considered by our local government, and any NEPA appeal would have to take place in Washington through the federal courts. In my letter to the NPS, I asked that since they are prepared to undergo a CEQA analysis for the sites located at the Port of San Francisco piers, they should do the same for the NPS-owned piers at Fort Mason…”
So, don’t come here, Feds. Don’t come here where it’s super easy to do business, you know, without dealing with millionaire NIMBYs for decades, oh no, don’t even think about it! Feds, you must immediately put the idea “to rest.”
Well, we’ll just have to wait and see how that works…
Tags: 2012, alcatraz, Americas Cup, bay area, born-into-the-one-percent, california, CEQA, district, district two, District Two Supervisor, e line, f-line, feds, ferry, fort mason, marina, Marina District, marina times, Mark Farrell, Muni, National Park Service, NEPA, nps, right kind of crowd, San Francisco, SFMTA, Supervisor, tour, tourists, tunnel, WHITE PEOPLE
Posted in protests | No Comments »
Thursday, June 21st, 2012
The Center for Biological Diversity is crowing about more room being designated for the Western Snowy Plover along the west coast.
San Francisco isn’t getting more space for these critters but they already have as much as they need here now, not that some area dog owners agree with the way things are these days.
Anyway, here are some San Francisco Snowy Plovers and the also the deets of the new agreement with the Feds are below.
(Oh, and remember, as always, plover rhymes with lover.)
A snowy plover on Ocean Beach _not_ being harassed by a dog:
Now, Ocean Beach Dog, ooh, somebody over there got an off-leash ticket from the Feds a looooong time ago. (Can you guess what year by looking at the website design? Sure you can.) Oh well. Well, the Feds don’t like Ocean Beach Dog and people what behave like Ocean Beach Dog. The Feds consider us Whacko City, USA because of outfits like OBD, oh well.
Most dogs don’t bother the boids, of course. Can you see the snowy plover?
But some dogs do harass the birds. (These aren’t actually snowy plovers near Lawton and the Great Highway but the dogs don’t know or care about that.)
(Get those Ocean Beach birds, good boy!)
And here’s the sitch up in Crissy Field:
See the birds, see the unleashed dog?
Is is surprising to you that an unleashed dog could find and chase these plovers? What was surprising to me was to hear that this particular boid flew up from Morro Bay (where it was banded and which is like way south of here) all the way up to the Marina District:
Keep on keeping on, plovers:
“More Than 24,000 Acres of Critical Habitat Protected for Western Snowy Plover
PORTLAND, Ore.— In response to a Center for Biological Diversity lawsuit, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today designated 24,527 acres (38 square miles) of critical habitat to protect the Pacific Coast population of threatened western snowy plovers in Washington, Oregon and California.
“Protecting critical habitat will help this lovely shorebird continue on the path to recovery,” said Tierra Curry, a conservation biologist at the Center. “Species with federally protected habitat are more than twice as likely to be moving toward recovery than species without it, so this puts a big safety net between plovers and extinction.”
Western snowy plovers breed primarily on beaches in southern Washington, Oregon, California and Baja California. Today’s designation includes four critical habitat units in Washington (covering 6,077 acres), nine units in Oregon (covering 2,112 acres) and 47 units in California (covering 16,337 acres).
Snowy plovers were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 1993, when the coastal population had dropped to 1,500 birds and plovers no longer bred at nearly two-thirds of their former nesting sites. That Endangered Species Act protection allowed the population to increase to more than 3,600 adults by 2010.
Plovers are recovering but still face many threats, including widespread and frequent disturbance of nesting sites by humans, vehicles and off-leash dogs; crushing by off-road vehicles; global climate change; pesticide use; and habitat loss.
The western snowy plover was first granted 19,474 acres of critical habitat in 1999. In 2005 the Bush administration illegally reduced the critical habitat to 12,145 acres, eliminating protection for thousands of acres scientists believed necessary for the snowy plover’s survival and abandoning key habitat areas crucial for recovery. In 2008 the Center sued over the unlawful reduction of the plover’s habitat protections, leading to a settlement agreement with the Service and today’s revised designation.
Today’s final rule includes the reinstatement of habitat areas identified by government scientists as essential that were improperly withdrawn in 2005; inclusion of some areas not currently occupied by plovers but important for their recovery; and addition of habitats such as back-dune systems in an attempt to offset anticipated effects of sea-level rise caused by climate change.
The western snowy plover is a shy, pocket-sized shorebird that weighs less than two ounces and lives for three years. Plovers forage for worms, insects and crustaceans in wet sand and in kelp that has washed ashore. The word “plover” is thought to come from the Old French”plovier” or “rain bird” because plovers were seen on sandy French beaches during spring rains.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 375,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.”
Oh, and also remember that San Francisco is for Plovers:
Tags: 1993, 2012, bay area, beaches, biologist, birds, california, Center for Biological Diversity, conservation, Crissy Field, deal, district, dog, endangered species act, extinct, extinction, federal, feds, habitat, lawsuit, marina, ocean beach, oregon, owner, Owners, plovers, recovery, reserve, San Francisco, service, set aside, shorebird, snowy, snowy plover, space, species, state, sunset, threatened, Tierra Curry, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, United States, Washington, western, Western snowy plover, Western snowy plovers
Posted in Animals | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
So what do you think, Federales? You think you could see your way clear to coming to the 415 for the next week or so to investigate electoral corruption in San Francisco? Come on down to work a week in town. I just know that you’ll find something.
But that’s only from nine to five, you dig? After hours, you can visit whichever new or existing Michelin-starred restaurant that you want. And then, just expense it, baby. Easy peasy.
San Francisco wins, you win.
This will be your 11th course at The French Laundry (yes, Pixar used it as a model for the kitchen in Ratatouille) up in Napa: Feuillentine au Caramel. “Intense oozing,” baby. Serving the Commonweal never tasted so good:
Via ulterior epicure
All right, here’s a cheat sheet to get you started:
“More Ed Lee Money Laundering and Voter Fraud Uncovered – Leland Yee Says Enough Is Enough – State & Federal Election Monitors Needed
SAN FRANCISCO – The well documented scene in Chinatown of Ed Lee IE campaign workers filling out ballots for voters and the Go Lorries money laundering scheme may seem tame in comparison to what two local newspapers documented in today’s paper.
The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that a person known for “strong-arming tenants out of rent-controlled apartments” emailed associates of Archway Property Services directing them to attend a Lee fundraiser and telling them they would be reimbursed for their $500 contribution. Campaign finance laws prohibit money laundering.
Andrew Hawkins, the managing director of Archway Property Services, emailed 16 associates the following: “I expect each and every one of you to be at this event tonight. Bring your check books and write a check for $500.00 for Ed Lee donation. You will be reimbursed right away for you coming.”
In addition, the Epoch Times Chinese newspaper went undercover to find Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) and Community Tenant Association (CTA) staff also working on the Ed Lee campaign and even having keys to his office on Clay Street. In addition, the paper found various instances of CCDC, CTA, or Ed Lee campaign staff filling out and mailing voters ballots, in clear violation of law. Many of the ballots from these documented locations arrived at the Election’s Office at the same time.
“This is yet further evidence that we need state and federal election monitors now,” said Senator Leland Yee. “San Franciscans cannot afford to just wait out the clock until November 8. There appears to be massive voter fraud that should be immediately investigated to protect the integrity of this election. Either Ed Lee is condoning these illegal tactics or the wool is being pulled over his eyes – not what we need of our Mayor.”
Filling out their ballots
After describing themselves as prospective voters, two Epoch Times reporters were met by a Lee campaign worker who explained that her role with CTA included working on the Lee campaign.
The worker explained that “helping” voters in fact meant to simply have an elderly person sign and date their ballot, and then she or another campaign worker would take it away to fill it out and mail it in.
Using a nonprofit for campaign purposes
At 777 Broadway – a CCDC building – CTA is apparently running an office out of the community room in which they also distribute Ed Lee campaign literature and make announcements for meetings in support of Lee’s mayoral bid. CCDC says that political advertising is not allowed at their buildings.
Coincidental statistics
According to CCDC website, the 777 Broadway building includes 31 studio apartments. According to voter records, there are 33 registered voters of which 31 are vote by mail voters. This equates to nearly 94 percent of the voters being vote by mail. By comparison, the city at large is only 46 percent. And even as early as October 24, 60 percent of the 777 Broadway voters had already cast their ballots, versus only 6 percent for the rest of the city.
Equally troubling is the fact that 19 of the ballots from the building arrived at the Elections Office within a day of each other. In essence, the public is expected to believe that 1/3 of the ballots arrived at virtually the same time in complete coincidence.
A similar phenomenon exists with another CCDC building – 1590 Broadway – in which 20 absentee ballots arrived at the Election’s department on the exact same day, October 24.
More voter and election fraud
Epoch Times spoke to one elderly woman who sad that she was visited by a CTA worker and signed her ballot without filling it out and was told that it would be filled out for her and mailed in. Filling out and mailing in other people’s ballots is a clear violation of elections law.
A number of CTA and CCDC workers were observed “popping in and working alongside other staff” at Lee’s 943 Clay Street campaign office. In fact, one CCDC worker even had keys to the office and was observed opening the door for the undercover reporters.”
See you soon, Feds!
Tags: 1590 Broadway, 2011, 777 Broadway, Andrew Hawkins, Archway, ballots, bay area, california, campaign, ccdc, chinatown, Chinatown Community Development Center, chronicle, Community Tenant Association (, cta, ed lee, election, Epoch Times, federal, feds, Feuillentine au Caramel., fraud, Go Lorrie's, ie, laundering, leland yee, Mayor, mayoral, money, Money Laundering, Monitor, monitors, Napa, newspaper, property, reimbursed, rent control, San Francisco, Senator, services, state, The French Laundry, voter, workers
Posted in politics | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 14th, 2011
City Attorney Dennis Herrera is all over last year’s gas transmission explosion in San Bruno.
All the deets.
The first of a series of photos of the San Bruno aftermath from photographer David Yu
Just released:
“Herrera moves to sue CPUC, feds for failing to enforce gas pipeline safety standards
Revelations from San Bruno tragedy lead San Francisco to seek federal court order compelling regulators to strictly enforce U.S. safety standards
SAN FRANCISCO (July 14, 2011) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera has taken the first step toward suing the California Public Utilities Commission and federal regulators for their failure to reasonably enforce federal gas pipeline safety standards as required by the Pipeline Safety Act. The notice of intent to sue Herrera delivered late today is a legally-required precursor to civil litigation by San Francisco, which will seek a federal court order to compel the CPUC and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to enforce federal pipeline safety standards in an effective manner.
Herrera’s move comes in the wake of increasingly troubling revelations in news accounts and last month’s sharply critical report by an independent review panel investigating the deadly explosion of a PG&E gas transmission line in San Bruno, Calif. on Sept. 9, 2010, which resulted in the loss of eight lives and the destruction of 38 homes. That investigation report concluded that CPUC’s “culture serves as an impediment to effective regulation,” and went on to fault regulators who “did not have the resources to monitor PG&E’s performance in pipeline integrity management adequately or the organizational focus that would have elevated concerns about PG&E’s performance in a meaningful way.” The City Attorney’s Office will file its comments on that investigation report with the CPUC tomorrow.
Continued after the jump
(more…)
Tags: 2011, administration, bay area, california, California Public Utilities Commission, city attorney, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, civil, county, CPUC, dennis j herrera, Dennis Jose Herrera, Department of Transportation, dot, explosion, federal, feds, fire, gas, Hazardous Materials, letter, litigation, Mayor, natural, pge. pg&E, PHMSA, Pipeline, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, precursor, regulators, report, safety, san bruno, San Francisco, San Mateo, standards, transmission, u. s., U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. House of Representatives
Posted in environment, health | No Comments »
Monday, March 7th, 2011
Kamala Kelkar has the deets of this expected gambit from The Feds:
“The public comment period for a contentious proposal to force dogs onto leashes in several popular dog-walking spots such as Fort Funston was extended until May 29.”
All the deets, and news of today’s premature protest, below.
Off leash dogs at Fort Funston (named in honor of a Filipino-Killing Cracker):
Click to expand
Draft Plan/DEIS Newsletter
GGNRA Draft Dog Management Plan / Environmental Impact Statement
NEPA and Negotiated Rulemaking
Public Scoping Comment Analysis Report
Public Scoping Workshops Project Information
And here’s the news from famous SF FYI Net:
“March 7, 2011 – Monday
Off Lease Dog Walking – Rally outside the GGNRA Open House Meeting
When: March 7, 2011 – Monday
5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Ft. Mason Center, Building D, Marina Blvd. and Buchanan Street, San Francisco
What: Speak out for Off-Leash Dog Walking. Rally outside the GGNRA Open House Meeting. Golden Gate National Recreation Area has released a proposal to restrict dogs and off-lease dog walking in places like Fort Funston, Ocean Beach, Crissy Field, Marin Headlands, Muir Beach. Rally outside of the GGNRA open house meeting at Ft. Mason. The GGNRA will not have a microphone available for the public to commet on its proposal.
Bring a photo of your dog, a sign expressing your message to the GGNRA.
Sponsored by: Crissy Field Dog Group, DogPAC of SF, Ocean Beach DOG, SF ProDog, Save Off-Leash Dog Walking in the SF Bay Area, SFDog.
Information: saveoffleash@gmail.com”
Let’s stay safe out there…
Tags: dog, dogs, federal, feds, fort, ft, ft funston, GGNRA, leash, open house, Owners, parks, protest, walkers
Posted in Animals | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
Just discovered the Great Military Observation Tower of the Presidio is no more. It jutted above the eucaluptus so high, they painted it #17875 White and #12197 Aviation Orange, just like Sutro Tower. But now the sweet tower is gone.
You could see the whole bay area up there – probably with a similar view that you’d get atop the PG&E Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. And it was accessible – you could just hop the fence while minding the concertina wire and then use the internal staircase to get to the platform up top. It was sweet:
Click to expand
But then then took out the first flight of stairs so you couldn’t just walk up the thing and then they put up a cell tower right next door and then, not too long ago, they just took the observation tower down.
So here’s the situation today. Cell tower on the right, and the site of the observation tower (the now-empty square) on the right:
I think the above shot from Google Maps is from 9-11-2010. (Google has no hassles photographing the Presidio from above, of course.)
Anyway, here’s how it looks from Ashbury Heights – the cell tower is there, but the observation tower, Mount Sutro’s Little Buddy, is all gone:
Oh well.
Tags: 2010, army, bay area, california, course, crime, district, Eucalyptus, faa, federal, feds, Golden Gate Bridge, golf, illegal, national, observation, observation tower, park, piper loop, presidio, red, richmond, San Francisco, tower, trespass, trespassing, u. s., United States, white
Posted in bay area, military, parks | 2 Comments »
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Drivers getting too close to tonight’s noisy official SFPD motorcade were likely to get a Harley Davidson all up in their grill.
Representatives from the Motor Division were weaving all about in little pas de deux, sometimes pas de trois. About a dozen altogether, “corking” intersections just like they were the “leaders” of a Critical Mass bike parade:
Click to expand
Let’s hope the V.I.P. inside wasn’t troubled Larry King, is all I can say…
Tags: 2010, airport, august, bay area, california, department, dept., federal, feds, larry king, Motorcade, police, San Francisco, SFO, SFPD, vip
Posted in motorcycles, police | No Comments »
Friday, May 14th, 2010
Now back in the day, you could shimmy over a nine-foot cyclone fence and then just walk up the staircase to the top of this observation tower the U.S. Army used to operate in the Presidio. It was the coolest vantage point in town.
But now the barbed concertina wire is thicker than ever and the wobbly stairs up to the first landing have been removed. And perhaps there are new systems in place that would assist the park police as they catch any monkey trying to shimmy up to the top. (Perhaps means definitely, BTW.)
Oh well. It’s painted Sutro Tower white and red because it’s a hazard to aerial navigation peeking just above the Eucalyptus the way it do. Last time I was there, you could tell that people would go up to drink beer and have sex and whatnot.
You’d think the phone companies would have used this old tower for cell antennas but perhaps this old thing is too old. There’s a new tower right next door but there’s not enough room to party up there even if you could try. The old tower has a roomy platform on top, made for a bunch of generals and majors to reconnoiter and whatnot.
Click to expand
Oh well, it’s the end of an era….
Tags: army, course, crime, district, Eucalyptus, faa, federal, feds, Golden Gate Bridge, golf, illegal, national, observation, observation tower, park, piper loop, presidio, red, richmond, San Francisco, tower, trespass, trespassing, U.S., United States, white
Posted in parks | No Comments »
Monday, April 5th, 2010
Not even sure what to call this ex-military observation tower as I am unaware of its name. But I’ll tell you, the views from up there are terrific and with none of those pesky trees in the way. It’s painted FAA red and white like Sutro Tower for a reason – it’s a hazard to navigation it’s so high.
Now, you can’t go there legally I don’t think, judging by the signs that I’m sure are posted on the fence you’d need to climb over to begin your climb. Speaking of which, this thing is all wobbly by design. And that’s fine, but you don’t know how it’s been maintained over the decades. Think about that if you try to climb up.
What’s it still doing standing above the eucalyptus if it no longer has a purpose?
Click to expand
Last time I was up, there were empty beer cans strewn about, so that’s proof that somebody goes up there sometimes. Oh well.
You’ll just have to bide your time and wait for the Golden Gate Bridge to open up to climbers, whenever that happens…
Tags: army, course, crime, district, Eucalyptus, faa, federal, feds, Golden Gate Bridge, golf, illegal, national, observation, observation tower, park, piper loop, presidio, red, richmond, San Francisco, tower, trespass, trespassing, U.S., United States, white
Posted in architecture, bay area | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Ah yes, the horrible Tesla Motors company, based in nearby San Carlos, CA, comes now to diagnose the public’s ”range anxiety” concerning electric vehicles. Their point is that if you keep on charging up an electric car, it will keep on running.
O.K.
But why did Tesla need to get bailed out by the Feds to the tune of a half-billion dollars? Did they try to get private financing? Oh yes, numerous times, but, for some reason, they felt the need to take the money from the Feds. If Tesla is such a great company, why don’t they pay back the government loan right now and thereby relieve taxpayers of loan repayment anxiety?
Oh well.
Here’s some Photoshop Phun – what’s been changed in this photo?
1. “Founder” Elon Musk has been enlarged to make him look more like a man-child playing with a rich man’s toy on the Feds’ dime; or
2. Indoor sunglasses have been added to make “founder” Elon Musk look more like a man-child playing with a rich man’s toy on the Feds’ dime; or
3. Pink XXL Crocs shoes from Costco ($14.99) have been pasted on.
You Make The Call:
You know Tesla, your fast little toy has impressed some people, but your track record over the past six years is not impressive at all and it remains to be seen how you’ll do over the next six years.
Just saying…
Tags: anxiety, california, car, electric, elon musk, feds, motors, range, roadster, san carlos, tesla, Tesla Motors
Posted in cars, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
